"Amazing… His soul is so bright. What a tremendous fighting spirit. I have never seen someone who has the same fighting spirit as him. Not even my mentor, his will is all set. This… so is called the will of fight that drives fear away. "
"Vanishing Fire! Sky Art: Clean Sky!"
The clean sky can be performed by swinging the sword vertically.
He dodges it. His fist attacks were heavy. At any time I dodge his punch barely, it hits me without touching me.
"Dragon Strike!"
I use Dragon strike to attack him with a heavy attack. Any light attack won't work on him. So I'll just use all heavy attacks continuously.
Kazura flew and punched ten times from the air. I closed my eyes to feel the presence of the wind.
"Sun Art: Spherical Kusanagi!"
Spherical Kusanagi is a sphere type of normal Kusanagi. I turned the Kusanagi into red at the time Kusanagi appeared to block Kazura's attack. After the attack, Kazura moved incredibly and kicked me in the stomach, and flew away.
"Arisu! You! Earth Magic: 6 Pillar—"
"Don't just run away! I'll manage this somehow!"
Shit! That damage earlier hurts so much. I can give it to him if I fasten my movement.
"Sun Art: Phoenix!"
Phoenix has a ridiculous movement. I combine the Vanishing fire and Phoenix movements. Plus the wings are flapping, that's why I move so fast.
"What the— where is he— damn you! Then, can you block this!?"
Kazura flies and a sphere on his hand appears. He threw tons of Sphere toward us and it exploded. In the end, everyone was down due to the explosion. I managed to stand still but at the time I looked at him. Above the ship were all surrounded by the explosive sphere.
"This is the end for you Kitahara, I'll come for your sister after this fuss. "Explosion Magic: Chaos!"
I thought it was the end for me but he suddenly vanished into nowhere and I didn't feel any demon's presence.
Kazura appeared in a realm of nowhere.
"Where am I? A realm? Seems like it's the 2nd X Demon's power. First thing first, if I was here, then would we have a mission?"
Not only Kazura is the only demon who got teleported there but the 7th X Demon to the 3rd X Demon.
A big eye appeared. It opened and it talked.
"Hear me out all of you, I was being told by the master in person. Hunt the Heavenly Sky's Pillar. The thunder pillar "Nagahara Asuka" is the youngest pillar among them. She is strong as the lowest Dark X Demon. I will send all of you to defeat them. I'll give you extra blood. The reward that the master said is his blood. Would you take this request from our master? Do not worry, I and the first X Demon have our own mission. Do not let me down, I'll kill you all if you don't manage to kill that lowly human."
"Understood!"
A person who watches us at the top of the tree eating apples and just chilling.
"What person was that kid? Even still, he lacked training. That kind of person will die shamelessly."
Many cops have arrived at our location. Most of the cops arrive at our location but the demon has already disappeared.
I have managed to buy time for them. It's time for me to go. I'll be dead by now, I can't feel anything anymore—"
I woke up in a place that was floating in the sky. I can clearly see the sun on the horizon.
"I really died? Damn it! I didn't manage to say goodbye to my little sister. I wish Tokiro won't tell the secret that I died— wait, if this is heaven, I can see Moritaka-san here!"
"No need to get excited Arisu"
"Moritaka-san! Glad to see you again!"
"Right, you did your job as a cop. I'm very proud of you!"
"Moritaka-san, would you like me to tell you about my adventure?"
"I would like to but—"
"But? We can spend more time here forever."
"Arisu, you aren't dead. We are inside of your consciousness. This is your imaginary heaven that was built by your consciousness."
"Is that real? There is no way I can survive on those wounds. My ribs are destroyed, my source of life vanished, and my wounds are crazy deep."
"You have been sealed inside the crystal. It was the crystal that prevented you from dying and living. Mostly like you are sealed. I won't be here enough but I have things to say before I leave. Treasure your life. Fight and live to the fullest."
"Right! That's a promise, Moritaka-san!"
And now I'm alone again and waiting to go to heaven or go back to life.
Yukiha woke up and Julius was reading a book beside her.
"Oh! Yuzuha, you're finally awake."
"What happened to me?" touches her head.
Everyone on the ship has been knocked down by the 3rd X Demon but by the time we arrive, the demon is already gone.
"Arisu! Where is Arisu?"
"I don't know this person Arisu but there is a guy who is in critical condition. Everyone is fine, but that guy is the only one who is in the worst situation. Your head was hit really hard that's why you got unconscious for 4 days Just what did happen out there?"
"Arisu stopped us fighting the 3rd X Demon and he said "Saving you guys is all that matters to me now. That's why I'll hold this demon before the sun turns red" and he overused until his mana went out. We the captains haven't still fought any X Demon and yet I feared them and got paralyzed by trembling. We need someone like Arisu to end the demon race. His will and fighting spirit are above all of us. He is just an elite cop and yet has a stronger will than everyone. We need to prevent him from joining the Assassination Division."
"What particularly is the reason?"
"Humans change if something changes. It was what our teacher said. We need to protect the strong ones. Once the strong ones lose something important, darkness is always around and it might possess their mind and use its power to fight us. But I already know why we are alive now. Because we are protected by a strong one and yet we grew strong and we still haven't made any progress in a decade."
"What an amazing person he is"
"Yeah, we are already old but the inferior ones are stronger than us."
"Don't feel sad about it. Also, you are still 18 years old, you are still young. We can still get stronger."
"I'll go now to see him."
"You need to rest first. You might have fainted using magic on reviving broken wounds and organs."
"I need to go right now, I have important questions about him. Helping friends isn't bad, right?"
He sighed and said," alright, if you insist, I won't buy you your favorite bread after this."
Yukiha entered the underground of the place where the crystal is located.
"Everyone, release the person inside the crystal. I do the revival magic."
My body was put on the ground and Yukiha cast magic on my body. It takes more than 20 minutes to revive my destroyed organs.
"His body is already fine but— what the? What's happening to his heart is getting weaker. If this continues, he'll die!"
"He is really a reckless guy. Captain Yukiha and Gina-san! Will it work if he absorbs life span and it will turn into a flame inside his body like right?"
"Life span will do but it needs a massive amount of life span. It was like I needed to sacrifice to save him. I won't allow such a thing. We need to think of a better way."
"There is no time to think, he'll die if we don't decide. I and Yuzuha will extract our life span to Arisu. Extract as much that will save him. He was an important person in our land. That's why saving him will get a high chance of humans winning against demons. Arisu hasn't yet mastered Sun and Sky Art. From what you saw in the fight between Arisu and 3rd X Demon, Arisu is just repeating all his attacks. He didn't master all types of Sun and Sky Art. he just managed to master those by himself. He can't master the other techniques alone. That's why we put him in training. There is a possibility that he alone can beat a single X Demon. He was our comrade. We won't let a single comrade die. the Vice-captain of Unit 5, We'll do everything to save him."
"Gina, let's start. Yuzuha, Tokiro, touch us from the back."
"Healing magic, Revival!"
"Yukiha-san, it's not working!"
"Wait a minute. Captain Yukiha, do you know where is Arisu's sword?"
"Julius! Get Arisu's sword!"
"What are we going to do with his sword," Gina asked.
"At the fight between him and the 3rd X Demon, every time his sword got damaged, he was getting weaker. There is a curse or ritual like that. Let's try it on the sword."
"Healing Magic, Revival!"
They use revival magic to revive damage to my heart and to bring back my heartbeat. What power I used fighting the 3rd X Demon is my own source of life, the flame inside of the human where the mana came from. I extracted it to be my strength once and for all. Grandfather told me to protect the sword that I was using. I just notice it while fighting. The more my sword was damaged, the more my body got damaged. It's like the sword is my heart.
"H-his heartbeat is beating back, continue!"
"T-this curse. This is what I hear from the Majima-sensei! A boy who was cursed by a higher god/goddess than the great goddess Amaterasu. This curse won't lift or can be removed by humans."
"Death Curse! A person who ever lived through the wars and still fought over and over just to find the justice that the person wanted. He suffers from killing all the bad guys just to end the war and tragedy in this world. You are born to be the darkness in this world." A guy has shown and said such a word.
"What do you mean by that, Ryougi?"
"We already learned things about this. He shouldn't be a part of Royal Cops. I decline him to be one. I'll kill him right here and now."
Ryougi moved so incredibly that Yuzuha and Tokiro didn't see him moving. Julius manages to block Ryougi's sword.
"What are you doing, Julius? Does anyone know what they're doing? This person isn't human or a demon. I can sense the great darkness inside his mind."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I can read a human's mind. I can see their past lives through hijacking consciousness. Do you know what I saw?"
"What is it?"
"In his consciousness, I saw his body was sealed inside that dark place. If you won't believe me, I'll prove it to you. Mind Link, Hijack this guy's consciousness!"
Yuzuha, Tokiro, Yukiha, Julius, and Ryougi entered Arisu's consciousness. They appear in the dark place where Ryougi said a while ago.
"Ugh! This presence is too strong. The smell of my surroundings and my fear took over my body. This is—"
"What is a human doing inside this kid's consciousness?"
A dark person has appeared, and the god of fate once again appeared.
"Who the hell are you!? What are you doing inside Arisu's consciousness!?"
"Don't go doing reckless things. Don't ever come again inside his consciousness."
"Wait… What do you mean by doing reckless things?"
"Human, god, or goddess should wake this boy. If you are taking care of this boy. Do protect this boy from the darkness."
"What will be the outcome if he falls into the darkness?"
"That's all I can say to you. I'll tell you everything when the time comes.
They went back to their own consciousness and Julius told Ryougi not to just kill me after the conversation earlier.
"But if he is a danger to our comrades, I won't hesitate to kill that guy."
In the end, they succeed in reviving my sword. I was sent to the hospital for 1 week. It was the longest sleep I ever had in my life. I have a few questions for myself. Does grandfather know about this? Who the hell am I? Who did this to me? I need to find the answer to that but it's not the right time for it. I feel like there is something more inside me.
I again feel the beat of my heart. My eyes opened and I saw Tokiro, Yuzuha, and Captain Yukiha. I didn't feel alright and they took me to the hospital. I got hospitalized for one week. That is a long rest time. I guess I need that long rest once in a while.
The rest of mine has ended. I walked again. My body feels so light again and I was already fully healed. I can now fight again.
I went to the first division's HQ and headed to our room.
"Welcome home Arisu-nii!"
It feels good to be greeted by a cute little girl every time I come home.
"Thanks, Yumi! I'm already fine. No need to worry about Arisu-nii's condition."
"Arisu, can you call Tokiro and Sho at the dorm in the palace?"
"Sure, but what are they doing there?"
"Sho asked Tokiro to teach him learning sword skills."
I walked outside. This feels nostalgic. The feeling of fresh air and the beauty of the sky. I feel freedom from it.
At the time I opened the door, Tokiro flew away.
"A-arisu, Y-Yuna is crazy strong—"
"Who? That pretty lady one?"
"Eh? Pretty? Are you hitting on her?"
"Stupid no, the is just a pretty lady."
I stood up and took the wooden sword from the back.
"What should I call you? Yuna-san, Yuna-chan? Hmm…Ah! Yuna-Chi. Well then, Yuna-chi, I'm here to challenge you"
And in a blink of an eye, she vanished and broke my wooden sword, and took me down.
"S-so fast! I just blinked and got beaten up already."
Yukiha walked in and said "Of course, she's fast and strong. After all, She was the commander of all swordsmen in this land."
"EH!? Is that for real? No wonder how good her sword skill is"
"By the way, do you feel better now?"
"Yeah, thanks for healing me Captain Yukiha."
"Hehe, do not mention it. Anyway Arisu, your Art style is way too amazing. The one looks like a sky, what Art is it?"
"Sky Art. From the start, I'm originally a fire user but Moritaka-san said that I was possessed by such a magic power which is Sky Magic."
"EH!? The Sky Magic? From the Kitahara clan!? Arisu, maybe you are her little brother!"
"What? You are not joking, right? I really have a big sister?"
"Right, Kitahara Suzuya. Tosaki Kajiro's right hand!"
"Where is she now!? I want to see her!"
"This would let you down but Master Kajiro still hasn't come back and his army."
"Huh? Where did they go?"
"Special Mission. To look for Great Sanjuro!"
Special mission—"
The bell rang all over the village and all the cops who are doing training right now stopped and started to go out.
"What's with that sound? What is going on?"
"Oh, I mostly forgot to tell you, the commander has summoned all the royal cops. Wear this, this is a dragon cloak. A highly enhanced suit. It blocks any heat and poisons. Your cloak is different from Tokiro, Yuzuha, and others. This will be a mission. The assassination division has found one of the demon's bases. We'll all find out at the ceremony place."
Yuzuha also came. Every cop, even the higher cops, was also there. This is so much more than I expected. This is not only a normal mission, but this is also something higher than the mission I was taking in founder land.
"We have a message from the land of wind. Demon's invasion. The demons that day started being active. The founder's land has already fallen onto the demon's hand. We will support the land of wind from the demon's invasion. I will be sending all the cops. 3 of the X Demons have already appeared in the land and were reported by the assassination division. Ayanami Yukiha will take the commands. Tomorrow dawn, everyone must already leave. I wish you good luck and stay alive."
The commander looked at me and called out my name.
"Tosaki Arisu. An elite cop of the founder land, vice commander of unit 5. You will be assigned to the assassination division. Before that, I want you to join the first division. If you manage to take down a powerful demon, I'll verify you as a permanent assassination division."
"Understood Ma'am!"
A guy walked toward me and gave me a badge.
"Arisu, we are happy to have you. Complete the mission and we'll start on the main event."
"Understood Sir!"
The meeting was dismissed and we prepared for tomorrow's battle.